Marvel Spotlight #9-11 (1980-1981): Captain Universe; series ends

Ripped from the pages of The Micronauts, Bill Mantlo expands on the story of Captain Universe.  This is exactly what a book like Marvel Spotlight should be used for: Developing a property in a story that has no other place to be told.

We learn that there is a Uni-Power that essentially bonds with someone who is experiencing injustice so that the person can be empowered to overcome.

So it’s really like a Deus Ex Machina that saves people in dire straits.

These issues are three done-in-one tales of the Uni-Power’s inventions.  None are great tales, but none are awful, either, and Ditko’s art works well.

With issue #11, Marvel Spotlight is cancelled.

The really frustrating thing about #11 is that the Uni-Power occupies a black man–a black hero is still a rare thing in 1981, and a black lead character is even more rare.

But look at the cover:

That’s right: You can’t see his face and have no way to know he’s black.

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